doesn’t want it, but she’ll keep it forever.’”
I knew that bell.
It was hanging in my kitchen window, and I’d never known where Martin had found it.
“One day he showed me a photograph,” Elena said. “Your wedding. He said you were planning a cruise together, and if you ever came to my stall, would I hold something for you?” She shrugged. “I said yes. What else do you say to a man like that?”
She disappeared briefly and returned carrying an envelope.
Inside was a small copy of our wedding photograph, taken during our first dance.
My head was tilted back in laughter, with Martin’s hand resting against my back.
I remembered holding him so tightly that evening.
Barely a week after our wedding, he’d sailed away.
I’d clung to his hands, making him promise he’d return home.
Inside the envelope was another letter, written in his familiar
